1:30am
by OBMcKenzie
Summary: After an eventful day of near death for our favorite pair, we find ourselves up late with Brennan and he late night caller. Their world is about to change, but are they ready? One shot, B


Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. Great show. Support the Writer Strike.

Note: This take place roughly after the first season. I have only watched that one season so far and there you go. Please Review if you like it.

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Temperance Brennan sat on her sofa in her home. Files strewn across her coffee table and floor before her. A soft blanket wrapped around her shoulders and the tea in her hands warming them against the chill of the room. Though the files were supposed to be holding her attention they could not distract her from the events of the day as they tumbled carelessly through her mind. Giving her endless frustration but she found she was unable to stop it.

Her wrists still hurt from the ties that had held them, and her body still ached from the beating she took. She had been utterly terrified today, for the first time in her life. She had been locked away in cell's in third world countries, threatened with guns, and violence countless number of times. Today was the first time that she had come within minutes of her own death, seconds in fact.

She knew that the only reason that she was alive was because of Seeley Booth. He had been beaten and bruised, almost to the point of hospitalization, and more than likely beyond that. She could not ignore that he should have been in a hospital. She could not ignore that if she hadn't been gagged she probably would have been screaming his name.

_Have I come to accept him saving me so easily?_ She pondered as she sipped slowly on her tea. The music had droned into the background and all she could hear where her thoughts, _My last thoughts would have been of him. Is it possible…am I falling in love with him?_

She recalled the look on his face as she had been pulled away, while he had been held down and beaten up. He looked as if he would have run in front of a firing squad for her. That if he hadn't been held down none of those men would have been alive. His milky brown eyes had been tortured by anguish as she had been thrown in that van. It couldn't have helped that she had truly frightened that she was being separated from him.

She was a strong woman, always had been… always had to be. She was a survivor. She had a story to tell and things to learn. She had never really valued her own life; she more valued the life and story of the victim she was working on. That is what got her up every morning and got her to work. That had changed though, and she hadn't noticed. She no longer woke just for the faceless unknown victim's, she had another reason. He had sneaked his way into that spot in such a short amount of time.

She made a sound of frustration and started to clean up the files she had spread out. It was no use trying to focus on anything else; her mind was an uncontrollable mess and would most likely remain that way until she got a good night's sleep. Just as she finished cleaning up the files and putting them in her bag, there was a knock at her door. She glanced at the clock; 1:30am.

_Who could..?_ She frowned and walked to the door and called out, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Bones" answered a familiar voice. A smile leapt across her face, it might be late but she would never be disappointed to be called upon by Seeley Booth. She opened the door and leaned against it, regarding him with a concerned eye.

"Wha-"

"I need to talk to you." He said and slipped past her into the apartment. She blinked and shut the door before following him into the center of the apartment. She noted that he seemed flustered and his body posture was agitated.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned. She had limited social skills but she could always read Booth. He was probably one of the few people that she could easily read and understand without words. He was pacing her living room while she stood between him and the foyer. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt over a long sleeve shirt.

_His relaxed look_, she mused. She had always been amazed at how he managed to look very attractive no matter what he was wearing. The way his hair always looked so perfect and how she wanted to run her fingers through it. How his bone structure was so prominent and well defined.

"Today.." Booth started. He would take a step and look like he was about to launch into a bitter tirade about how she needed to be more careful. How this was exactly why she couldn't carry a gun. She'd heard it many times; usually it didn't take him this long to figure out how he was going to yell at her. She assumed that this new display of frustration only meant that he was angrier than usual.

She waited patiently, admiring his body and how well it was put together, before Booth suddenly marched right up to her. His brown eyes were swirling with emotions she could not recognize. He closed the gap of space between them so quickly that she failed to react. His hands slipped across her cheeks and into her hair, holding her head steady as his lips pressed against hers. Before she realized what had happened she was kissing him passionately back.

Their lips slipped comfortably across each others, silently speaking words that only lover's ears can hear and understand. Her hands lifted to his chest; where one attempted to melt with the cloth, while the other hand lifted to his cheek. Their kiss lasted moments of an eternity. They left it mildly breathless, staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry Bones." His soft lips whispered to her. Only inches from her face, she wanted to kiss him again.

"Booth.." His fingers loosened their grip and she felt him pull away, she could see his thoughts.. she could feel them. He though she was rejecting him. Her heart burst into ten thousand pieces, how could she reject him? Never before had she felt this way about anyone. She closed the gap between them this time. She kissed him, with all of the passion that she could express.

They broke from this second kiss and he enveloped her in a strong embrace. He would have pulled her body into his had he been able too. They grabbed at each other like that for a few moments, trying to hold the other tighter, trying to express all of their feelings within a hug. Eventually the stress of the day wore through them and they collapsed to their knees onto the floor. Booth not hiding his tears from her, and attempting to communicate through them.

"I thought…" He started haltingly and through choked tears, "I thought that I had finally lost you today. I thought they would kill you the second they had you in the van. Oh god Temperance. I thought you were dead. Dead. DEAD! I can stand that… the thought.. I almost lost you. Temperance."

She pulled herself back from the embrace and held his face between her hands, holding is so she could look him in the face. The way he said her name, with such soft and caring tones. As if he cared for her name like her cared for her, "I thought they had killed you when they drove off. They told me they had killed you."

His finger moved across her cheek, gently caressing her face structure and pushing her hair out of the way. They relapsed into silence and she traced several of his visible wounds. He barely flinched but she could tell what the tender spots were. She smiled finally, "I love you."

A brilliant smile rushed across his face, and she couldn't help but mirror the smile. He kissed her again, deeply and passionately. They drank in each other, the smells and feel and taste. Neither knew what the morning would bring, if they would make it through even a day together, but right now. Right in this moment neither cared. Neither was willing to allow any more thinking the necessary, both were content. For the first time in a long time for either of them, they were content.


End file.
